How to get rid of Nargles
by Leprechaun123
Summary: How does one rid oneself of small creatures that may or may not exist? Well, Draco has the answer - AU


**How to get rid of Nargles**

**I guess you can call this a continuation of "You can leave a Toothbrush" but you don't need to read it first. Big thanks to my beta Amythesica for the quick run through. **

"He's not happy, you know." The soft voice startled Hermione from her musings. She tore her eyes away from the blond haired man standing across the room, focusing them on Luna who seemed to materialise beside her.

"Excuse me?" she questioned.

"Draco," the mystical voice continued, "he's not happy. The Nargles keep biting him. They're very distressed around him"

"How do you know that means he's not happy?" Hermione queried, allowing herself to be pulled into the conversation.

"Nargles only appear when someone has a conflicted aura. They wouldn't be there if he was in a good mood," Luna reasoned.

Hermione looked over at her boyfriend. She studied his demeanour. He did seem on edge but she had put that down to being in a room full of Gryffindors with only Blaise as a fellow Slytherin.

After the war, the rest of the Slytherins seemed to disappear to the deepest crevices of the earth to avoid judgement. Draco and Blaise were the only two who remained. Blaise had avoided it by remaining neutral and Draco had deflected near the end of the war. He became a Snape 2.0 if you will; a spy for the Order.

Now as she watched, she noticed the fist-clenching that came when he was anxious; the slight sheen on his forehead from sweat (and it was December with snow falling outside. No need for sweat.) There was a slight kink to his otherwise perfect smirk, indicating that he had gripped the inside of his cheek with his teeth. He was worried.

This new revelation hit Hermione like a bucket of cold water. She knew they hadn't quite been talking like usual and he had been a bit short with her recently but she hadn't really considered it. Was he going to break up with her? The walls began to feel like they were closing in, suffocating Hermione.

"I need air," she gasped, diving for the door. She yanked it open, praying that there would be a rush of relief. The cold air smacked her in the face. She breathed it in, the bitterness burning her lungs. She collapsed down on the front steps and buried her head in her hands. A small whimper left her mouth. Focusing on her breathing, Hermione tried to calm herself down. She examined every aspect of her relationship, trying to find the point where it seemed to break. She thought they were happy. She thought they were content. In her panicked state, she didn't head the door open behind her.

"Hey, why did you disappear?" Like Beetlejuice, Draco appears when you think about him. His silver tones broke the silence of the night air. Hermione inhaled deeply, pulling courage from the bitter air.

"The room got too warm. I needed some air," she finally summoned enough breath to say. Draco raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"For someone so intelligent, you're a horrible liar," he scoffed. "Now what's wrong?"

Hermione gritted her teeth, willing the question to not come out. "What happened between us that you want to break up?" Oops, too late.

Draco scowled. "What makes think I want to break up?" he questioned, fist beginning to clench.

"Luna. She pointed out that you aren't happy. I know something has been off over the last few weeks and then tonight, you were chatting but you keep biting the inside of your mouth, clenching your fist and your shoulders are tense. You're not telling me something and I'm afraid to know what it is. We haven't talked properly in weeks and we've both been too busy to go on dates recently aside from a quick lunch. Have you given up? Had enough of me? What is going on? " Hermione ranted, chocolate eyes flashing dangerously.

"It's not... " Draco started.

"Don't give me that bull about it not being you, it's me. If you're going to break up with me, be a man about it," Hermione growled, jumping up from her seat on the porch. She began to pace in front of him. "I would have thought you'd have come up with something more original than that, " she muttered.

Draco followed her movements with his eyes before finally getting up. He grabbed her arm and cupping her cheek, he kissed her to halt her mutterings. She gave in quickly so he moved his hands down to her waist to stop her from running away when he pulled away. Panting slightly, he rested his forehead on hers.

"You really need to learn to stop talking," he said softly, "and if you'd let me finish, you'd know that I was trying to say that it's not what you think," He paused for a moment. Nervously, Hermione began to shuffle in his arms but his hands tightened on her hips.

"How do you always manage to ruin every surprise?" he sighed.

"Skill," she shot back.

"If I remove one of my hands, will you not move? " he asked. Hermione nodded in affirmation. Draco waited another moment before removing his hand and putting in his pocket. He fumbled around before finally getting a grip on the small piece of metal in his pocket. He took a deep breath and pulled it out but kept it concealed in his hand.

"You're right, I haven't been around lately but I have a good excuse," Draco started slowly. "I decided a few months ago that this Christmas would be special. That I wouldn't let another year go past without developing this relationship further. However, there was something I needed first. I remember you saying that there was a ring that had gone down through the generations in your family through the first born girl but your grandmother got it and only had boys. So it was given to your dad to pass on to you or rather whoever you would marry to give to you" Draco stalled for a moment.

"But my parents lost that in all the moving between here and Australia and back," Hermione inserted.

"Actually they didn't. It was in a moving box that hadn't been unpacked. Now I'm getting to the important part that I really hope you'll say yes to because your father put me through tasks worse than Hercules had." At his indignant tone, Hermione giggled through the tears that had begun to fall. "So despite wanting to do this in a far more romantic way, I shall ask." Draco sank down on one knee, "will you marry me? And please answer quickly because this ground is slightly damp." He revealed the ring nestled in the palm of his hand.

Tears streamed down Hermione's face at his declaration. She gulped, trying to gather breath to answer. That was working too slowly so she grinned and nodded frantically. Draco's face threatened to split in two with how wide he smiled. He placed the ring quickly on her finger and then stood, grabbing Hermione into a right hug, spinning her around. He put her down and cupped her face.

"Merry Christmas, Hermione."

"Merry Christmas, Draco."

"You couldn't have waited two days to confront me? I now have to think of something else for you for Christmas"

Hermione's peeling laugh filled the night air. She pulled on his arm.

"Come on, let's tell everyone." She opened the door back into the party. Just before the door closed behind them, keeping the heat in, Luna's voice rang out,

"Oh good, the Nargles are gone"

**THE END**

**As always, read and review. Always appreciated! Plus I kind of need the validation but don't we all?! **


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